ABC’S NIGHTLINE BEATS TONIGHT, LATE NIGHT FOR 13TH WEEK

ABC once again boasted that with Nightline it had the biggest late-night audience last week in total viewers and those 18-49. It also claimed it ranked #1 in total viewers for the 13th week in a row. Moreover, it noted, “This is the first time ever that Nightline has been in first place at this point in the season since at least the 1993-94 season.” Citing Nielsen ratings, ABC said that Nightline drew 4,204,000 viewers, while The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC attracted 4,019,000 and Late Show with David Letterman 3,478,000. ABC’s rivals, however, would point out that Nightline is only a half-hour long, and its figures therefore reflect only the period until midnight, while Tonight and Late Show reflect the number of viewers for an entire hour and that the number of viewers tends to fall off precipitously after midnight.